25/25

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

One of the challenges that I am most excited about is drinking all the beers made in London. Thanks to the lovely Phil Howes, I love a local ale, so I anticipate spending any hard-earned cash (no job as of yet, though) in old man pubs and hipster hang-outs in order to find yet another pint of something with a faintly amusing name.

However, my dad, the creator of this challenge, might have been a tad ambitious. A quick internet search (http://www.londonbrewers.org/) reveals at least 28 London breweries, stretched from Hackney to Kew. I'll be drinking as many of their products as possible, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to drink them all; I don't fancy putting "find a liver transplant" on my 26/26 list.

As I remember, I've already sampled beers from Camden Town Brewery, Fullers (London Pride, obviously), Redemption (brewed up the road in Tottenham) and Sambrooks. Now it's onto the next 24!

Sunday, 26 August 2012

Preparations for The Swim (it definitely needs capitalising) have begun. I'm so dedicated that I swam every day even while on holiday. I mean, it helped that it was in the sparkling azure waters of the Adriatic, but whatever, you can picture me doing it amidst the battering waves off northern Scotland if you want. I will be posting similarly unattractive photos like the one below for probably all my tasks, so remember to keep checking back!

Friday, 10 August 2012

Using the Random Number Generator (http://www.random.org/), I now have my 25/25 list:

23: Harrison - 25 Shades of Grey26: Harrison - bake 25 different cakes08: Sarah S - attempt to sneak backstage at a concert22: Harrison - go around London and only converse with people in Urdu and hand gestures for a day. Pretend you don't speak British10: Zanny/Rob - go to a rave20: Laura S - learn how to drive and pass your test09: Sarah S - make a cookbook for family and friends19: Laura S - start a niche dating website01: Noel/Jacob - finish the novel06: Jacob - stage or participate in a flashmob27: Harrison - be an honest-to-God hipster for a few days then write an article about your experience05: Jacob/Sarah S - learn how to breakdance32: Mum - enter a picture in the summer exhibition16: Rachel G/Dan - mile-long outdoor swim12: Zanny - get someone famous to sign your body11: Zanny/Rob - go camping31: Graham - learn one awesome but completely useless talent18: Laura S - go to a Tory party function07: Sarah S/Harrison - read an ambitious book24: Harrison - recreate a fun childhood photograph15: Rachel O/Leo/Graham/Pat - come to the US (and do the run-and-chug)30: Graham/Mum - try 25 new foods33: Dad - sample all the beers made in London29: Graham - introduce two people with the goal of, and succeeding at, starting a relationship14: Sarah B - Climb Mount SnowdenSome of these require more participants (e.g.: the flashmob), so I'll be recruiting over the coming months. There won't be much progress until after the dissertation's done (September 17th = party time), but I'll be knocking them down like it's my job. Which it might be, if I can't get a real one.

Through some very unscientific choosing (the more outlandish suggestions are the result of blind finger-pointing, others because I want to do them) we have...dah dah daaaaahhhhh.....

The short-list:

Noel/Jacob - finish the novel

Lizzie - proofread her dissertation

Dan/Isobel - do cheese-rolling

Dan - pretend to be Mary Poppins all day then wander around London telling people you were in the London Olympic opening ceremony

Jacob/Sarah S - learn to breakdance

Jacob - stage or participate in a flashmob

Sarah S/Harrison - read an ambitious book

Sarah S - attempt to sneak backstage at a concert

Sarah S - make a cookbook for family and friends

Zanny/Rob - go to a rave

Zanny/Rob - go camping

Zanny - get someone famous to sign your body

Zanny - set up a stall in a market for a weekend

Sarah B - climb Mount Snowden

Rachel O/Leo/Graham/Pat - come to the US (and eat cheesesteak)

Rachel G/Dan - Mile-long outdoor swim

Rachel G - run a 10k

Laura S - go to a Tory Party function

Laura S - start a niche dating website

Laura S - learn to drive and pass the test

Pat - do the run-and-chug

Harrison - go around London and only converse with people in Urdu and hand gestures for a day. Pretend you don't speak British

Harrison - read half of 50 Shades of Grey then report back

Harrison - recreate a fun childhood photograph

Harrison - create a 25-point visitors' guide to London with places that have some significance to you

Harrison - bake 25 different cakes

Harrison - be an honest-to-God hipster for a few days then write an article about your experience

Graham - start playing the saxophone again

Graham - introduce two people with the goal of, and succeeding at, starting a relationship

Graham/Mum - try 25/26 new foods

Graham - learn one awesome but completely useless talent

Mum - enter a picture in the Summer Exhibition

Dad - sample all the beers made in London.

And, if I start earning megabucks (hahahaha), then I have these places and people to visit in addition to going to NYC/Philly/DC: Italy (Chris), Malta (Alison), Canada (Adil) and Seattle (Isobel). Can't wait!

So now I just have to whittle away or combine the thirty-three into twenty-five, and then get cracking! This will be done by the end of today, as I'm off to Croatia tomorrow (not sure I can do any of the things on this list there, though).

I'm 25! And being 25 means the start of my 25/25 challenge. Twenty-four people made eighty-seven suggestions, which is exciting. Some suggestions are death-defying (bull-riding, spelunking, swimming the Channel), others almost certainly embarrassing (only speaking in Urdu, pretending to be Mary Poppins, singing a song on the London Eye), others heart-warming (everyone who said I should come visit them....awwww you guys). An excellent list has been made by all of you, and I really appreciate it.

Here's the long list:

NOEL

finish our novel

LIZZIE

Proofread her diss

DAN

Enter a conker competition

do cheese rolling

swim the english channel or other great feat

hitch hike to somewhere as far away as possible

learn to irish dance properly

pretend to be mary poppins all day then wonder around london telling people you were in the london olympic opening ceremony

Baotashi

PAT

Do the run-and-chug

ADIL

Visit Canada

CHRIS B

Come to Italy

JACOB

‎I've already mentioned learning to break dance, but to clarify, I'm serious about that one.

Write a novel/short story. (This can be traditional fiction, but erotic novels or various sorts of fan fiction are also allowed.)

Stage/participate in a flashmob.

Kayak on the Thames.

Choose a food you like, find 25 places that do it well, and visit them all in an epic day (or weekend). So for example, if you really like cookies, find 25 great cookie places and then go have 25 cookies.

SARAH S

Learn a new instrument

Eat strange foods you’ve never tried but that people swear by

Make a cookbook for family and friends

Read an ambitious book

Attempt to sneak backstage at a concert

Take an art/dance class

Visit every pub in London

Go to Italy

ZANNY

Go to a rave

Go sailing in the Solent

Tell everyone your name is Bobo for a full day

Go on the London Eye and start signing out loud at the top. You must complete a full song!

Ask someone to marry you!!

Busk - and gamble youre earnings!

Camp out under the stars

Go white water rafting

Bungee jump

Get someone famous to sign your body!

Swim the channel (without dying please)

Climb the tallest mountain in Britain in fancy dress

Audition for a screen play

Set up a stall in a market for one weekend

ROB

raving

camping

SARAH B

Three Peaks challenge

Climb Mount Snowden

Go fishing

RACHEL O

go to Philly and eat cheesesteak

LEO

Come to Philly

CLAIRE

Paragliding

Go Ape

CHRIS B

Come to Italy

RACHEL G

Mile-long outdoor swim

London 10k

ALISON

come to Malta

LAURA S

go to a Tory party function

get married

start a niche dating website

learn to drive and pass my test

ISOBEL

come to Seattle

do the cheese run

HARRISON

Go around London and only converse with people in Urdu and hand gestures for a day. Pretend you don't speak British.

Read half of 50 Shades of Grey (aka 25 shades of gray). And report back to us.